Mohave County miner., 1887-07-30
A Masked Feature Si the silver
NkneSllsn.

The British Indian Government re.
ceives Its entire revenue in silver and has
no other form ',f money that it can en-
l,loy in disbursements aud for domestic
expenditure. In payment Of all salaries
in India, and f,r labor or supplies OF al
descriptions found upon Indian home
territory, the rapee is entirely adequate,
or as efficient az ii evtr was! But the
Indian Government owes and has 10 pay
every year large sums to or through the
British Government in Europe. These
payments are called ''home charges y
They comprise not only pensions but oil
The military supplies that have to be sen,
from the British arsenals, and they have
come TO range annually from 900, 600. 900
to $40 o,000, 600. There home charges are
paid, OF course, by the British Govern.
msnt In gold, and we're the Indian gov.
erument Obliged to repay the amount in
metal, they woald have to exchange or
cell silver at the European market value
10 raise the requisite amount Of gold. On
course, the Indian Government does no,
send specie to Europe. but have devised
a process OF this character: The British
Government draw bills upon the Indian
Government payable in silver, which are
sold on the London Exchange 70, mer-
chants. who Otherwise would have TO dis
charge their debts to India by sending
silver there for that pxpose. These bills
are sold yearly ior gold value on the
London Exchange 10 meet all the dis
bursements known as home charges. II
is to be perceived, however, that a. the
rupee purchases in India or is legal ten
dor there for nearly two shillings, the
purchaser vi one Of these council drafts
or bills paying, as at present, less than
one shilling and sixpence for the rupee.
in effect, pays of debt In India Of
thousand dollars, for example, with seven
hundred and fifty dollars In gold in Lon
don, while thereby also saving all the ex-
pense and charges OF transmitting the
money. In other words, any English
merchant Wishing to import cargo Of
Indian wheat, by merely purchasing and
remitting one or more Of these council
drafts at present rates, he enters the In
dian wheat market with. say, 5000
rupees that will purchase as much wheat
as that sum Of rupees would ever do in
India, and which really cost in London
u, 600 rupees. or 25 per cent below the
value at which they are used in India.
In this way. or by means Of these In.
dian council drafts, the larger part OF the
products Of India which are, exported TO
Europe annually to 80 large an extent,
are paid for, rather than by silver which
WAS formerly used almost exclusively in
the settlement OF trade balances. Hence,
radically, the effect is thn same upon the
price Of silver bullion as II the amount Of
silver produced by the mines had been
increased yearly a. much as the sum
total Of these saline council drafts. '.' ..
Herein is one Of the most potential
canses, plainly, Of the steady deprecia-
tion OF silver In london. That Is TO say,
Il Is not the amount OF silver bullion
which Is won every year from the mines
Of North and South America that has led
to the depreciation, Of silver bullion in
London. but the yearly selling in London
Of a species Of silver; certificate issued by
the British Govesninest 10 meet the In
creasing expenditures, especially in con.
nection with the building Of rnilroads.--
N. Y. Mining Record. ".
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